Michigan aids Red Bank kids

Nov. 29, 2012

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@APPLarry

RED BANK — A New Jersey native now living in Michigan rallied her town to help out students at the borough’s primary school, which was hard hit by superstorm Sandy.

The 570 pupils there got a pleasant surprise when they returned to classes on Monday: boxes of school supplies and a $1,000 donation from residents of Clarkston, Mich.

The collection drive was organized by Krystal Bergman, who was born in New Jersey and now lives in Clarkston.

“She said, ‘What can I do to help?’ ” said Laura C. Morana, Red Bank schools superintendent. “She’s a perfect example of what we see going on in New Jersey as a result of Sandy. It’s a wonderful act of kindness.”

Bergman said the idea came from her three elementary school-age daughters, Brady, Maya and Violet. They responded to a Facebook page about collecting school supplies started by her cousin, Janice Cooper of Eatontown, and other teachers.

That grew to a townwide and almost statewide effort in Michigan. The idea was picked up by the Pine Knob School, the Parent Teacher Association and the entire Clarkston school district after Superintendent Rod Rock heard about it and endorsed it, Bergman said.

“We go to the Shore every summer,” said Bergman, who was born in New Brunswick and has numerous relatives in New Jersey. “My kids just wanted to help, and she (Cooper) matched me with Dr. Morana.”

The idea grew bigger when the Clarkston High School football team set up a table at the state playoff game to collect supplies, books and cash, Bergman said. Their opponents from Rockford had put up a notice about the drive on their website and brought donations as well.

“It became almost statewide. It was exciting, because something this small got this big. People just wanted to help, and it just grew,” Bergman said.

They raised almost $3,000, some of which was used to buy more supplies. In addition, the drive collected more than 1,000 books and put together 595 “goody boxes” containing pencils, crayons, sharpeners, erasers, notebooks, glue sticks and construction paper, Bergman said.

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She linked up with DrawBuckets.org, which was delivering storm relief supplies to New Jersey on Monday, in order to get everything to Red Bank.

Morana had Bergman on speaker phone, so she could hear the reactions of school children who received the boxes.

“I spoke to a class of kindergarteners. The excitement in those kids’ voices was so heartwarming,” Bergman said. “They were so excited. I was so happy to be a part of it.”

The students at first wanted to know if they could take the boxes home or if they had to pay for them, Morana said, calling Bergman a role model for children.

“The children were so happy and appreciative. They wanted to know if they could take pencil boxes home with them,” Morana said. “It’s a wonderful way for someone to do something meaningful in a very selfless way to mobilize the community.”

Even before Monday, primary and middle school students got a helping hand from the Howell school district and teachers in Edison. They provided books to replace water-soaked texts lost to flooding at the primary school, and supplies to accommodate extra students relocated to the middle school, Morana said.

While planning to implement split sessions at the middle school, Morana said school officials realized primary school teachers wouldn’t have access to their supplies. Edison educators came through with supplies for students, such as pencils, crayons and markers.

“Right after we learned we had water in the primary school, I got a call from a teacher in Edison, who lives in the area and wanted to do something to support the school,” Morana said.

The primary school had several inches of water in the one-story building when officials returned. While students were at the middle school, crews replaced carpeting with vinyl tile floors in 16 of the 33 classrooms that are used daily in the primary school.

“I reached out to colleagues, and the Howell school system came through with supplies and materials they weren’t utilizing,” Morana said. “It was the kindness of colleagues, particularly Howell, which had math books they didn’t need.”